Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1887-10-05
How to Fed Cattle Grain.

Finding one spring, that I had not
enough hay to carrym cows through, and
believing that II was cheaper to purchase
grain than hay, bought corn meal and
middllngs for substantial support, and
barley straw for bulk. The straw was
well cured and early cut, and with six
pounds Of ground feed per day they did
well on It. rather better than they did on
hay, and it was cheaper. After a while
they seemed to get tired Of the straw,
and, to make them eat 1t up clean / wet
it and spread the meal over it. As I ex-
pected, the straw was eaten up clean, but
found ina few days what had not ex-
pected, that their milk increased little In
quantity and considerable in richness, the
quality Of meal and straw being the same
in each way of feeding. changed the
mode of feeding several times during the
spring with the same result every time.
The difference was not very large; can
not say exactly how much. The expert
ments were made for my own satisfaction
only, with no thought Of publishing, and
the figures were not preserved. As the
difference was evidently due to the man.
ner Of feeding the meal, I determined to
be positive as to where it was lodged
when eaten, conjecturing that 1t failed Of
perfect digestion from not being carried to
the rumen where il would receive the
necessary preparation for complete diges-
fion. With this intent followed to the
slaughtering house pair of four year old
buliocks. sold to the village butcher. and
Just before killing, fed them peck OF corn
meal. As soon as the stomachs could be
reached, they were examined, and the
meal was found deposited in the fourth
stomach. Not a particle could be found
In the first, second, or third divisions.
Since then have made similar tests with
cattle slaughtered on the farm with like
results. Whether the meal took this
direction by the will Of the animal, or
whether the papill@ which line the rLmen
and lower part OF the gullet, were too
large to grasp and work along into the
rumen such fine food, as they are sup
posed TO do with the eoarser food cannot
say. 1t must suffice for the present to
know where it went. But I will say on
tnis point that finer food goes into the
rumen or paunch of young cattle than into
that OF older ones. When fed corn in
the ear to cattle, one two, or even three
ycuio OAu, Ju5b uciOI0 hlluuS IAcu,
found nearly all Of it in the paunch, but
when fed full grown COWS in the same
way, especially old cows found nearly
all the corn in the fourth stomach. Moth
ang but the whole kernels or large pieces
went into the first stomach. But found
all of it there when the ears were fed with
wisp of green hay wrapped around them.
In this way, corn may be fed with very
little loss from having it pass through the
cattle whole. The masticatsd corn min
giles with and adheres to the hay. and
goes along with it to the first stomach,
the natural reservoir for coarse food,
while it passes through all the digestive
apparatus and receives the most thorough
digestion,
So when straw or hay, cut or whole, is
well wetted, and finely ground meal is
sprfnkled on and mixed with it, the whole
goes, in like manner to the first stomach,
and the action Of every part Of the stom-
ach is made available for complete diges-
tion. Not only can the dairymen derive
better results from meal when fed in this
way, but more of it can be consumed in a
given time, because more of it can be fed
without producing securing. Meal pro-
duces SECURING when more is fed than can
be digested. 1t Is imperfectly digested
meal, more than anything else, that dis
turbs the bowels in this way. Less meal
will produce securing in cattle when fed
alone than when mixed; evidently be-
cause, when mixed by having the action
of the first three stomachs upon 1t, the
work is well along by the time it reaches
the last division, and hence will be done
not only more thoroughly, but also more
easily and rapiiy. PROF. ARNOLD.
I q